Center for International Policy

Forum Agenda

Location: 138 Senate Dirkson Office Building

9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. registration and coffee service

9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Opening remarks by Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

10:00 - 10:15 a.m. - Welcome by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY)

10:15 a.m. Panel 1 - Policy Implications of Current OFAC Regulations

Introduced by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
Moderators: Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
Panelists: Wynn Segall (Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld); Robert Muse (Muse and Associates); Philip Peters (Lexington Institute); Jose Miguel Vivanco (Human Rights Watch)

11:00 a.m. Panel 2 - Who Suffers because of Limitations on Travel?

Introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Moderator: Representative Bill Delahunt (D-MA)
Panelists: Joan Slote, former gold medal cyclist in the Senior Olympics (OFAC threatening to seize her social security checks); David Cibrian, esq. (Republican Cuban-American attorney from Texas law firm of Jenkens and Gilchrist); Philip Lovejoy, Harvard Museum of Natural History (denied a license by OFAC).

11:45 p.m. Panel 3 - The Benefits of Engagement with Cuba

Introduced by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID)
Moderator: Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), co-chair of House Travel and Tourism Caucus
Panelists: Bill Reinsch, USA Engage;Thomas Cooper, Gulfstream International Airlines; Francisco Aruca, Marazul Charters, Inc.; Dorothy Robyn, the Brattle Group (author of study on the impact of travel ban on the U.S. travel industry)

12:30 p.m Closing Comments by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Lobby Day

1:00 -2:00 p.m. - Lunch for Lobby Day Participants. Nancy Chang of the Center for
Constitutional Rights will discuss typical cases brought by OFAC against travel violators. Brent Gibadlo, Director of ATRIP (former legislative director to Rep. Jeff Flake), will brief participants on how to lobby Congress.

2:30 - 5:30 p.m. Cuban-Americans, travel-industry professionals, and concerned citizens will meet with elected officials and lobby for the repeal of the ban on travel to Cuba. Specifically, participants will urge Members of Congress to cosponsor legislation (S. 950 and H.R. 2071) and support upcoming legislative initiatives to repeal the ban. Participants will meet with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. This event marks the second consecutive year that the Cuban-American community has come to Washington D.C. to push Congress to change U.S. policy toward Cuba, challenging the long held myth that the Cuban-American community unanimously supports the current policy of isolation.